Deuteronomy 24:14-22: a reflection

14You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the foreigners who are in your land within your gates. 15In his day you shall give him his wages, neither shall the sun go down on it, for he is poor and sets his heart on it, lest he cry against you to the LORD, and it be sin to you. 16The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers. Every man shall be put to death for his own sin. 17You shall not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, nor take a widow’s clothing in pledge; 18but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you there. Therefore I command you to do this thing. 19When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to get it. It shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again. It shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 21When you harvest your vineyard, you shall not glean it after yourselves. It shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 22You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. Therefore I command you to do this thing.

In a series of laws protecting the vulnerable, God gives a striking reason for the mercy he commands. He tells the people not to oppress the poor hired servant, to pay his wages the same day, to leave the gleanings of field and vineyard for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow; and twice he grounds it in the same memory: You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you. The mercy they were to show the vulnerable flowed from remembering the mercy God had shown them; because they had been slaves whom God redeemed, they were to deal mercifully with those now in need.

Notice the ground of the mercy commanded: remembering the mercy God had shown them. God does not merely command the people to care for the poor, the foreigner, the fatherless, the widow; he grounds the command in their own story, that they were slaves in Egypt whom he redeemed. Having received mercy, they were to show mercy; having been the vulnerable ones whom God delivered, they were to deal kindly with the vulnerable now among them. The memory of God's mercy to them was the spring of their mercy to others. Because they had been shown mercy, they owed mercy; the deliverance they had received was to overflow in kindness to the needy.

That is worth taking to heart, for our mercy to others is to flow from remembering the mercy God has shown us. We can be hard toward the vulnerable, the needy, those who depend on us, forgetting how much mercy we ourselves have received; but God grounded Israel's mercy in the memory that they had been slaves whom he redeemed. The mercy we have received is meant to overflow in mercy to others. Do not be hard toward the vulnerable, forgetting the mercy God has shown you; let the memory of his mercy to you make you merciful to those in need. Show mercy to the vulnerable out of remembrance of the mercy God has shown you, as Israel was to care for the poor and the foreigner remembering they were slaves whom God redeemed; for the mercy we have received is meant to overflow in mercy to others, and remembering how God has dealt kindly with us moves us to deal kindly with those now in need.

Lord, in a series of laws protecting the vulnerable, you give a striking reason for the mercy you command. You tell the people not to oppress the poor hired servant, to pay his wages the same day, to leave the gleanings of field and vineyard for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow; and twice you ground it in the same memory: you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you. The mercy they were to show the vulnerable flowed from remembering the mercy you had shown them. Show me the ground of the mercy commanded: remembering the mercy you had shown them. You do not merely command the people to care for the poor, the foreigner, the fatherless, the widow; you ground the command in their own story, that they were slaves in Egypt whom you redeemed. Having received mercy, they were to show mercy. The memory of your mercy to them was the spring of their mercy to others. Because they had been shown mercy, they owed mercy. Take that to my heart, for my mercy to others is to flow from remembering the mercy you have shown me. I can be hard toward the vulnerable, the needy, those who depend on me, forgetting how much mercy I myself have received; but you grounded Israel's mercy in the memory that they had been slaves whom you redeemed. The mercy I have received is meant to overflow in mercy to others. Keep me from being hard toward the vulnerable, forgetting the mercy you have shown me; let the memory of your mercy to me make me merciful to those in need, Lord.